Josh Cavallo is “scared” to play at World Cup in Qatar due to anti-gay laws

Josh Cavallo said he would be “scared” to play at the World Cup in Qatar because of the harsh anti-gay laws and penalties in the region.

In an open letter and video posted on 27 October, the Adelaide United player shared that he is gay – making him the only openly gay male top-flight professional footballer.

The midfielder said he has been “hiding who I truly am” but is “finally comfortable” to speak out about his sexuality.

“There’s something personal that I need to share with everyone. I am a footballer and I am gay,” he explained in the clip shared to the team’s social media.

The 21-year-old added that he has been trying to live a “double life” but that enough is enough.

In a letter to fans, Cavallo shared that he “couldn’t be happier” to come out.

“It’s been a journey to get to this point in my life, but I couldn’t be happier with my decision to come out,” he wrote.

“I have been fighting my sexuality for six years now and I’m glad I can put that to rest.

“Growing up I always felt the need to hide myself because I was ashamed – ashamed I would never be able to do what I loved and be gay.”

In an interview on The Guardian’s Today in Focus podcast, the player opened up about his reservations about playing in countries where there are strict penalties for being a member of the LGBTQ+ community.

“I read something along the lines of that [they] give the death penalty for gay people in Qatar, so it’s something I’m very scared [of] and wouldn’t really want to go to Qatar for that,” he said of playing in the 2022 Qatar World Cup.

“And that saddens me. At the end of the day the World Cup is in Qatar and one of the greatest achievements as a professional footballer is to play for your country, and to know that this is in a country that doesn’t support gay people and puts us at risk of our own life, that does scare me and makes me re-evaluate – is my life more important than doing something really good in my career?”

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